May 9, 2015
| 4 | 5 |
| McLane Stadium | East Lansing, Mich. | Attn: 810 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| VIDEO: Postgame Comments |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Late Penn State miscues proved costly, as Michigan State was able to rally in the eighth and ninth innings for a 5-4 walk-off win over the Nittany Lions in Big Ten baseball action Saturday afternoon in McLane Baseball Stadium.
Penn State (18-27, 6-13 B1G) saw its five-game winning streak come to an end with the loss. The Nittany Lions had led the game 4-3 since the top of the fifth inning, but allowed the game-tying run in the eighth and the game-winner in the ninth. Both runs were unearned.
A throwing error on a sacrifice bunt gave Michigan State (30-19, 12-8 B1G) runners on the corners with no outs in the eighth inning, so head coach Rob Cooper turned to RHP Jack Anderson (4-4) for the sixth consecutive game. Anderson was able to induce a shallow fly to right field for the first out, but centerfielder Anthony Cheky hit a slow chopper to shortstop to drive the runner from third home for an RBI-groundout and a 4-4 tie.
The Nittany Lions had a chance to go back ahead in the top of the ninth inning on a two-out double from left fielder Greg Guers (Langhorne, Pa.). Centerfielder James Coates (Girard, Ohio) attempted to score from first base on the play, but carried too much speed around third and lost his footing on the field, which had been slickened and softened by intermittent rain showers throughout the game. RHP Anthony Misiewicz (5-3) was then able to get the final out to strand both in scoring position.
Anderson quickly retired the first two Spartans in the bottom of the ninth, but he hit the next two and walked the next to load the bases. Right fielder Brandon Hughes then hit a grounder to short, but Haley was unable to get it out of his glove for the flip to second base, allowing the winning run to score.
Michigan State led twice earlier in the game. Third baseman Mark Weist hit a solo home run in the first inning and, following a game-tying sacrifice fly from right fielder Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) in the third, shortstop Ryan Richardson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third for a 3-1 Spartan lead.
PSU rallied in the fourth and fifth innings for its first lead. First baseman Christian Helsel (Altoona, Pa.) hit an RBI-single through the left side, and he scored on a triple by Coates off the hill in right field. In the fifth, designated hitter Nick Riotto (Washington, Pa.) singled up the middle to drive in Haley. Haley had doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a groundout.
The bullpens took over from there. Misiewicz held PSU to just two hits and two walks over the final four innings. RHP Jared Fagnano got the Lions out of a jam in the fifth and pitched 2 1/3 innings, yielding just the unearned run in the eighth on two hits and a walk with a strikeout. Anderson did not allow a hit in 1 2/3 innings of work, but was tagged with an unearned run after allowing three to reach.
Guers and Haley were the lone Lions with multiple hit games, as Guers went 3-for-5 with two doubles and Haley went 2-for-5 with one double. Richardson was the top Spartan batter, going 2-for-3 with the two-run home run, a walk and two runs scored.
Penn State and Michigan State will begin the rubber match Sunday at 12:05 p.m.